Endovascular retrieval of two migrated stents from pulmonary artery by means of balloon catheter

Abstract

Long-term central venous catheters can be associated with central venous stenosis in up to 50% of cases. Central venous stenosis can be managed with central venous stenting which was demonstrated to restore patency and improve suboptimal results after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. Dislodgment of venous stents into the right side of the heart or the pulmonary artery during stent deployment is one of the most feared complications of this procedure. Percutaneous removal of these migrated stents is the preferred alternative for the more invasive operative intervention, which may be very hazardous in these patients. We report an unusual case of a 52-year-old man on hemodialysis who underwent endovascular stenting to treat a tight stenosis of the right brachiocephalic vein and superior vena cava and suffered from stent migration to the left pulmonary artery, requiring removal by interventional radiologist.